Comments on: Yahoo's Yang throws jabs at Microsoft and Icahn

CEO Jerry Yang's comments to The Wall Street Journal follow a coordinated effort by Icahn and Microsoft this week to woo investors amid a proxy battle.

[humanssssss]

Who say that Microsoft buying Yahoo is good for consumers? Consumers prefer competition in the marketplace. By Microsoft buying Yahoo, it decreases the competitive landscape to only two major players in the market. Prices will start to creep up as the choices for consumers will be limited.

Microsoft and Icahn intend to make a few buck off of killing Yahoo. Yahoo employees will be laid off and any competing products to Microsoft will be discontinued, search marketshare will go directly to Microsoft Live. This is going to be bad.

[The_Decider]

It is not likely that MS will get any market share from destroying Yahoo. It is not likely that any employee will stay at MS should they buy them. This is lose/lose for MS but monkey boy doesn't know what else to do but try to buy its way into relevance.

[geekazine]

Jerry Yang THINKS he can bring back Stability!?! He's had over 6 years to do that. Simple business practices that even I would have made and Yahoo would have been stable.

Yang had a chance. If Yahoo was a private company, then he could have driven it to the ground. But it's public and it's time for a change. PERIOD.

[The_Decider]

Hmm, Yahoo has been beating projections. Guess your comments are off the mark a tad. I guess it is too bad that Yahoo didn't pull you away from your mop bucket so you could run things.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Wow. I'll give Yang credit- he's one to stick himself out into both the public and shareholder's eyes for ridicule. Looks like Yahoo has their fall guy all set up now. He's perplexed why Microsoft won't deal with Yahoo- perhaps because Yang has publically said he would fight any attempt by Microsoft to buy the company? Pick a story, Mr. Yang and stick to it. You can't be both yin and yang on this one.

[The_Decider]

Not giving into the borg is a good thing. The last thing Yahoo needs is the incompetent monkeys running them.

[geekazine]

Jerry Yang THINKS he can bring back Stability!?! He's had over 6 years to do that. Simple business practices that even I would have made and Yahoo would have been stable.

Yang had a chance. If Yahoo was a private company, then he could have driven it to the ground. But it's public and it's time for a change. PERIOD.

[winstein]

I think Yang is too polite. Microsoft has no intention to buy Yahoo. Microsoft probably will pay Icahn to get rid of the Yahoo board and don't care if it actually buys the company.

This reminds me of the joke:

A pig and a chicken are walking down a road. The chicken looks at the pig and says, "Hey, why don't we open a restaurant?" The pig looks back at the chicken and says, "Good idea, what do you want to call it?" The chicken thinks about it and says, "Why don't we call it 'Ham and Eggs'?" "I don't think so," says the pig, "I'd be committed but you'd only be involved."

[BENet07]

Please, don't let Microsoft take over Yahoo!!!

As much as I realize the contribution that Microsoft has made, I also recognize that Microsoft is not a "people" company and neither is it user friendly, especially in the way that Yahoo! is.

Just look at the way they are currently trying to force their new operating system on their customers while it's still having various and sundry major flaws; and that's just the latest and one of the smallest issues. They are too arrogant and too uncaring about client issues for anyone to be comfortable with them taking over Yahoo! and keeping it a "people" company.

They wouldn't know how. They wouldn't know how to cater to the type of people who use Yahoo! and who are a totally different animal from the people who would use Microsoft under similar circumstances, if any could be found.

Selling Yahoo! or any part of it to Microsoft would be ruining Yahoo! for its clients and a travesty to all.

To each its place, and a place for each. Microsoft, leave well enough alone, Yahoo ! doesn't want you!!!!!

[darkr]

where have you been if you haven't noticed Yang and the current board have actively rejected a reasonable bid. Only on the basis of they want more Money with a poison pill included in which they stand to make oodles of money.

at the current rate Yahoo will go down without a influx of money on its own they are losing confidence of their own executives hence why they are bleeding executives not purple.

everytime MS has approached them its usually a unfriendly price of a extremely high kind like 37bucks per share which is a extreme premuim over the current trading price.

personally i like windows live.

ms and yahoo have been intergrating technologies for years via yahoo and msn live messenger.

only a last minute deal with google saved their profitablity this year but their deal with google is being investigated by the DOJ

Yang has yet to show any proof they will double their profitablity by double by 2010 like he promised (more like a pitch to get a higher price)

yang has to work for the shareholders not just himself (poison pill seems to prove that all he is interested in is himself by providing garranteed salary for 2 years) the consultation company even thought that was overkill ( Nuts was the word used)

they also wanted 90million incase the deal was rejected by DOJ

and yang has reapproached MS for another deal for a buyout after pressure from his shareholders

[john55440]

With Yang as CEO, Yahoo! will have the stability of a company with a permanently-low share price.

[fredtheviking]

I think Icahn and Microsoft are playing thier cards right. For them it's not personal, it just business. Now, I don't believe Microsoft has anything to gain by buying Yahoo and everything to lose... But what perplexes me is the behavior of currect Yahoo board. The company has been losing market share and has lost it's way in the last 6 years. Honestly, this is the best thing they could have had happen to them. An easy out, why not take it? Surely, Yang could start over again and find himself just like Steve Jobs did when he was forced to leave apple.

Honestly, I think Yang and the board is holding on to a dream and won't see what's in front them. Just sell the company to M$ and cut your loses. I mean there is little downside to selling the company and they just making fools of themselves right now. Just look at thier position, they can't hold on to.

[Kwasiowusu]

Microsoft is "forcing" their operating system on the public are they? Ummm.last time I went to Best Buy no one was forcing anyone to buy any Windows computer. There were plenty of Mac laptops on the shelves, and today, HP sells Linux computers. Consumers of their own accord, simply walk past the Mac computers, and overwhelmingly CHOOSE to buy Windows computers. This happens to be a free country. Now why don't you take that in your pipe and smoke that?

[Penguinisto]

A few years ago, you could not buy an OEM computer without Windows pre-installed unless: 1) you were a large enough corporation, or 2) there is no #2.

[Kwasiowusu]

There were OEM computers without Windows installed even long BEFORE Windows was even invented. In fact even before Microsoft went into the operating system business, there were OEM computers without Microsft operating systems as far back as 1975. Wanna try again?

[Dalkorian]

I'll give this a crack, since you're obviously fishing for trolls and I'm in a bad mood.
;-)
Winblows sucks. It never was any good. It's security is akin to an unfunny joke and only paid shills like you could defend the disaster that is winblows. You mention that Best Buy had Mac's and Linux boxes as well as winblows ones, but I'm guessing there were 3 rows of machines running winblows, a small corner of one isle dedicated to Mac and the Linux boxes hidden around the corner near the TV's. At least that's the way it looks to me when I walk in there (I admit it's been a while though). Better yet, I'll guess the salespeople tell everyone who asks that the winblows machines are compatible with everything ... because they get kickbacks from M$ for shilling their crapware junk.
Smoke that.

[someguy999]

Yang took the most profitable advertisement company in the world, overture and over 3 years killed it to the point where it needs google to continue to live.

Seeing through Yang became all of the easier once he pushed through a poison pill, which even the compensation committee and board disagreed about. He put that plan in to place well after the offer came. So basically either you'll pay us obscenely more than we're worth or we'll continue to kill the company on our own as we have been at the cost of shareholders.

Its easy for Yang to be smug, he's made his billions. It would be nice if he thought about the little shareholders whom haven't seen the performance he's been constantly promising. by your own accords with the statement "I think that I can bring stability back to Yahoo", yahoo is in serious trouble ... you ran the show... and ran it clearly poorly. If he wants to pay out shareholders for his mismanagement personally, than I'll stick with him otherwise time for a new chief.

[Kwasiowusu]

Jerry Yang simplycan't get it through his thick head, that he is there to look after the company for shareholders, not run it as his personal fiefdom. A guy like that has no business running a publicly quoted company.

[Dalkorian]

You both realize you're advocating for Icahn't to "TWA" Yahoo and laugh his fool head off all the way to the bank, right? M$ has no interest keeping Yahoo or any of it's competitors alive, if they're allowed to buy Yahoo out then Yahoo will truly die. Until then though, it still has a chance.

[Digital_2008]

This is simple for me as well as others I know. Yahoo has slid downhill, simple. But Microsoft is not any better.

I am one who likes competition. If Microsoft does buy Yahoo, then I am done with Yahoo and I will delete my account and all services with them. Microsoft wants to destroy Yahoo and take out competition, they are a business and it is normal business practice these days, especially with Microsoft.

Get Microsoft out of the picture and then take care of replacing Yang or the board, etc, and make Yahoo better. But that is such a simple solution it will never happen.

[Kwasiowusu]

If you like competition so much, how come you are fine with Yahoo teaming up with Google to control a massive 90% of the search market, like Jerry Yand and his pals have just signed up to do with Google? A Yahoo + Microsoft hookup will still control only 30% of the search market, which doesn't even come close to Google's massive 70% of the search market. The only force thathas the money and the resources to prevent Google from becoming an evil monopoly in search, screwing the American public, is Microsoft.

[Dalkorian]

by Kwasiowusu July 9, 2008 2:06 PM
"The only force thathas the money and the resources to prevent Google from becoming an evil monopoly in search, screwing the American public, is Microsoft."
Wow, talk about delusionally stupid. What makes you think the evil empire is against evil? Google + Yahoo = Google + Yahoo. M$ + Yahoo = M$. Get it yet? Pretty simple math, most 4th graders can understand that one. Of course, acknowledging reality doesn't make those M$ checks arrive in your mail box now, does it. Shill.